Digital transformation amidst deviance: understanding impacts deviant workplace behaviour dynamics

Purpose: To increase our understanding of public sector digital transformation, we explore the impact of deviant behaviour on digital transformation. This contributes to the current literature on digital Transformation as well as to that of deviant workplace behaviour. Design: We conduct a qualitative case study of a digital transformation initiative in an Italian municipality. The study utilizes longitudinal data from two sets of interviews over a three year period. Findings: We identify three types of institutional drift related to digital transformation, i.e., decelerating digital transformation, maintaining infrastructural stability, and accelerating digital transformation. We categorize mediators for said drift and theorize on the role of deviant workplace behaviour as a strategic driver for digital transformation. Research Limitations/implications: With the study being a case study, it is limited in terms of generalizability and transferability. Through the study, we sensitize the notion of digital transformation and show how deviant behaviour results in strategic polyphony. Future studies are informed through offering a new perspective to public sector digital transformation strategy. Practical implications: Practice should view deviant workplace behaviour as simultaneously constructive and destructive in lieu of planned digital transformation, as well as see its presence as a potential sign of sub-par prerequisites for digital transformation. Societal implications: Through our study, deviant workplace behaviour is highlighted as a source of strategic polyphony and hence an important aspect of digital transformation strategy. Originality: Through being the first paper to apply the theory of institutional drift to digital transformation settings as well as identifying the impact of deviant workplace behaviour on digital transformation, the study offers novel insights.